ADVERTISERS

ADVERTISERS

The ultimate guides to the NFL draft are produced by Rick “Goose” Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News and ESPN’s Mel Kiper. Gosselin’s is the best, in my judgment, because it’s compiled by consulting the people who actually make the decisions: the scouts and general managers. He’s put out his top 100 prospects. Here are the top 40, which should theoretically take us well through the first round:

1-10

Rank, player

Position

School

1. Calvin Johnson

WR

Ga. Tech

Gosselin on Johnson: Since the NFL opened the door to underclassmen in 1990, juniors have gone first overall in 10 of 17 drafts. Come Saturday, make it 11 times. The Oakland Raiders are likely to select either LSU QB JaMarcus Russell or Johnson with the first overall choice. Both are skipping their senior seasons. It also will be the third consecutive draft an underclassman has gone first overall, following QB Alex Smith in 2005 (San Francisco) and DE Mario Williams in 2006 (Houston). A record 15 underclassmen were selected in the first round in 2005. Seventeen juniors carry potential first-round grades into this draft. At 6-5, 239 pounds with 4.35 speed in the 40, Johnson is the best of the bunch.

2. Adrian Peterson

HB

Oklahoma

3. JaMarcus Russell

QB

LSU

4. Joe Thomas

OT

Wisconsin

5. Brady Quinn

QB

Notre Dame

6. Gaines Adams

DE

Clemson

7. LaRon Landry

S

LSU

8. Darrelle Revis

CB

Pittsburgh

9. Levi Brown

OT

Penn St.

10. Leon Hall

CB

Michigan

11-20

Rank, player

Position

School

11. Jamaal Anderson

DE

Arkansas

12. Patrick Willis

MLB

Mississippi

13. Adam Carriker

DE

Nebraska

14. Marshawn Lynch

HB

California

15. Lawrence Timmons

OLB

Florida St.

16. Robert Meachem

WR

Tennessee

17. Reggie Nelson

S

Florida

Gosselin on Nelson: Since 1967, when the AFL and NFL merged drafts, there have never been four safeties taken in a first round. That could change with LaRon Landry, Nelson, Michael Griffin and Brandon Meriweather all toting first-round grades. The search is on for safeties with ball skills, and Nelson is coming off a six-interception season for the national champions. "His nickname is the Eraser," Florida CB Reggie Lewis said. "If I got in a situation where I was beaten, I knew I had the Eraser back there. With Reggie behind me, I knew I didn’t have any problems."

18. Ben Grubbs

G

Auburn

19. Ted Ginn Jr.

WR

Ohio St.

20. Joe Staley

OT

C. Michigan

21-30

Rank, player

Position

School

21. Amobi Okoye

DT

Louisville

22. Aaron Ross

CB

Texas

23. Jarvis Moss

DE

Florida

24. Jon Beason

OLB

Miami-Fla.

Gosselin on Beason: The Hurricanes are no longer a college football power, but they remain a dominant force every April. They’ve had first-round selections in 12 consecutive NFL drafts, the longest current streak among the colleges. The next longest streak is five by Oklahoma. Miami also has had 22 players selected in the first round this decade – 10 more than runner-up Florida State. The Hurricanes can pad both totals with three potential first-round draft picks: Beason, S Brandon Meriweather and TE Greg Olsen. Beason has been compared to ex-teammate Jonathan Vilma, a No. 1 pick by the Jets in 2004. A bit undersized (6-0, 237), Beason packs a heavyweight’s punch in a middleweight’s body.

25. Dwayne Bowe

WR

LSU

26. Michael Griffin

S

Texas

27. Paul Posluszny

MLB

Penn St.

28. Justin Harrell

DT

Tennessee

29. David Harris

MLB

Michigan

30. Brandon Meriweather

S

Miami-Fla.

31-40

Rank, player

Position

School

31. Greg Olsen

TE

Miami-Fla.

32. Anthony Gonzalez

WR

Ohio St.

33. Alan Branch

DT

Michigan

34. Anthony Spencer

DE

Purdue

35. Chris Houston

CB

Arkansas

36. Ryan Kalil

C

Southern Cal

37. Trent Edwards

QB

Stanford

Gosselin on Edwards: The pre-draft hype focused on the two elite passers at the top of this board, LSU’s JaMarcus Russell and Notre Dame’s Brady Quinn. But three quality quarterbacks factor into the second round: Edwards, Drew Stanton of Michigan State and Kevin Kolb of Houston. All could go quickly. Edwards went 26-0 in his final two seasons at Los Gatos (Calif.) HS and set a state record by completing 78.1 percent of his passes as a junior. But he played on some terrible teams at Stanford, winning only 10 of his 31 starts. He also took a beating, missing time with shoulder, thumb and foot injuries. Still, he’s 6-4, 231 pounds with a big arm. The NFL loves measurables at quarterback.

Mel Kiper is the most famous of the draft geeks and he’s good. He lives and breathes the prospects and knows them better than almost anybody. But that doesn’t mean his opinion–even if it’s right–will match up with that of the GMs and scouts on draft day. Here are his final projections for the 1st round:

NOTE: My spam filter automatically deletes any TrackBacks that do not actually link and refer to this post. Those doing it manually should ensure they have linked the post before sending the TrackBack ping.